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Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764)

Charles Carter, a son of Robert "King" Carter, was a planter and member of
the House of Burgesses
(1736–1764). Carter was educated in England and returned to Virginia in 1724, after
which he moved to one of his father's estates in Middlesex County. He later purchased a King George County plantation
known as Cleve. (He was often referred to as Charles Carter of Cleve to distinguish
him from relatives of the same name.) He served as a justice of the peace in King
George County and as the commanding officer of the county militia. He helped
establish three towns along the Rappahannock River. As a burgess, Carter became the
most important lieutenant of John
Robinson, the Speaker of the House of Burgesses and the treasurer of the
colony. He enlarged his own landholdings and advocated for the diversification of
Virginia's economy. To this end, he participated in some speculative schemes and
pushed for agricultural reform. London's Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts,
Manufactures and Commerce awarded Carter a medal for his wine-growing efforts. MORE...

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Early Years

Carter was born about 1707 to Robert "King" Carter, a land baron
and member of the governor's Council, and Elizabeth Landon Willis Carter. It was
the second marriage of both his parents. His elder half brother John Carter (d. 1742) became
secretary of the colony and also a councillor, and his younger brother, Landon Carter, served with him
in the House of Burgesses. Carter and his brothers were educated in England. After
his return to Virginia early in 1724 he moved to one of his father's estates near
Urbanna, in Middlesex County. The governor appointed Carter naval officer, or
customs official, for the Rappahannock District on November 1, 1729, and on the
following April 29 named him a justice of the peace for Middlesex County.

After the death of his father Carter moved to King George County to the Stanstead
plantation, which he inherited. Later he purchased nearby Cleve, where he resided
for the rest of his life. He was often referred to as Charles Carter of Cleve to
distinguish him from several relatives of the same name. About 1728 Carter married
Mary Walker, of Yorktown. They had three daughters and two sons before her death
early in 1742. Their eldest daughter, Mary Walker Carter, married Carter's nephew
Charles Carter
(1732–1806), who served with him in the House of Burgesses, and their only
surviving son, Charles
Carter (1732–1796), also served with him in the House of Burgesses and
later sat on the Council of State. On December 25, 1742, Carter married Anne Byrd, the
seventeen-year-old daughter of William Byrd II, of whose estate he was an executor. They had
six daughters and two sons before she died on September 11, 1757. Carter courted
at least two women, including the widow Martha Dandridge Custis, before he married
sixteen- or seventeen-year-old Lucy Taliaferro about June 9, 1763. They had one
daughter, who was born a few weeks before his death.

Political Career

Carter was a trustee for the establishment of the towns of Falmouth, in King
George County (after 1776 Stafford County), Leedstown, in King George County (later Westmoreland County), and
Port Royal, in Caroline
County, and he was a commissioner in the 1730s and again in the 1740s to
determine the boundaries of the Northern Neck. Carter served as a justice of the peace in King George
County beginning in 1734 and became county lieutenant, or commanding officer of
the militia. In September 1734 he stood for election to the House of Burgesses, lost, and
unsuccessfully challenged the result. Two years later Carter won election to the
House of Burgesses from King George County but had his victory contested on the
ground that he had offered life leases to one or more men to make them qualified
to vote for him. The challenger failed to gather evidence properly, and the
Committee of Privileges and Elections recommended that the challenge be dismissed.
Carter served in every session of the assembly from 1736 until his death and
quickly became one of the most influential burgesses. On his first day as a member
he seconded the nomination of John Robinson (1705–1766) for Speaker, and during
that session he took the lead in attempting to tighten enforcement of the duty on
the importation of slaves, served on a committee that examined the treasurer's
accounts, and also sat on a committee appointed to draft a bill to secure titles
to land grants issued by the proprietors of the Northern Neck.

Lieutenant Governor William
Gooch recommended Carter for the governor's Council late in 1742, but
another man received the appointment. Throughout his career in the assembly Carter
usually served on committees appointed to frame petitions to the Crown or to draft
bills and major state papers on such topics as finance. In the October 1748
assembly session Carter succeeded Edwin Conway, who had temporarily retired from the House, as Robinson's
right-hand man. Carter chaired the Committee of Propositions and Grievances and
routinely presided during debate in the committee of the whole, which allowed
Robinson to exercise his power effectively without fear of adverse rulings from
the chair. Until his death, Carter remained, next to the Speaker, the most
influential member of the House of Burgesses, even as the next generation of
legislators, such as Richard
Bland and Peyton
Randolph (d. 1775), emerged early in the 1760s. Along with Robinson,
Randolph, his kinsman Carter
Burwell, and his brother Landon Carter, he was appointed in 1756 as one
of the directors to oversee the colony's financing of troops to protect the
Virginia frontier during the Seven Years' War.

Advocate for Economic Diversification

While his father was an agent for the Fairfax family, Carter received grants for
large amounts of land in the Piedmont
counties of the Northern Neck Proprietary, and he subsequently inherited
large tracts from his father. Carter spent much of his life improving his huge
landholdings and seeking to diversify the productions of his plantations. He
constructed flour mills that served a wide community and grew a variety of crops
for market. Carter and his brothers developed a copper mine, he owned equipment
for a large distillery and for processing nut oils, and he built a bakery that
produced ship biscuits for the maritime market. About 1746 he began construction
of the great, seven-bay house at Cleve.

Carter was equally committed to the diversification of the colony's economy and
the development of the Piedmont and the backcountry. He worked in the 1750s with
other colonial gentlemen to obtain grants to large tracts of land in the West, and
in 1754 he persuaded George
Washington to survey the Potomac River above the falls in pursuit of their mutual interest in
opening the upper regions of that river to navigation.

In 1759 Carter sponsored a bill to create a committee to encourage economic
diversification in Virginia and award "bounties or premiums for the more speedy
and effectual bringing to perfection any art or manufacture of service to the
public." As committee chair, he initiated an extended correspondence with the
Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, in London.
Carter shared the results of his experiments and the trials other planters made
with a variety of raw goods and manufactures, ranging from hemp and salted fish to
naval stores and viticulture. The society awarded him a medal in 1763 for his
attempt to produce wine in Virginia. Carter hoped to improve the colony's economy
and the profitability of its plantations by fostering new exports to replace tobacco, which he feared would
saturate the European market. Carter was one of the pioneers in transforming the
plantation economy of northern Virginia from tobacco production to grains and
other commodities.

Later Years

When Carter wrote his will in 1762 he sought to extend his vision of economic
improvement under the direction of a secure class of planter families. He
instructed his executors to implement his full plan of agricultural reform at
Cleve, and he granted a favored slave, Benjamin Boyd, a continued role in the maintenance of the
estate's manufactures, as well as an annual income. Carter made substantial
provision for all of his children, daughters as well as sons, and younger sons as
well as his firstborn, and he ordered that his younger sons study law in London in
order to prepare themselves for their varied business affairs in the colony.
Carter used his will as an attempt to instill in his family a code of behavior
that shunned material ostentation and emphasized genteel manners. Carter died at
his home in King George County on April 26, 1764, of "a dropsey" that may have
been induced by the use of narcotics to relieve pain or reduce fever. He was
buried probably on his estate at Cleve.

Time Line

ca. 1707
- Charles Carter is born to Robert "King" Carter and Elizabeth Landon Willis Carter.

1724
- Charles Carter returns to Virginia after receiving his education in England. He moves to one of his father's estates near Urbanna, in Middlesex County.

ca. 1728
- Charles Carter marries Mary Walker, of Yorktown. They will have three daughters and two sons.

April 29, 1730
- Charles Carter is named a justice of the peace for Middlesex County.

1732
- After the death of his father, Robert "King" Carter, Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) inherits Stanstead plantation in King George County, and moves there.

1734
- Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) begins to serve as a justice of the peace for King George County and becomes county lieutenant, or commanding officer of the militia.

September 1734
- Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) stands for election to the House of Burgesses from King George County, loses, and unsuccessfully challenges the result.

1736
- Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) is elected to the House of Burgesses from King George County. His victory is contested on the ground that Carter had offered life leases to one or more men to make them qualified to vote, but the challenge is dismissed.

December 25, 1742
- Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) marries Anne Byrd, the daughter of William Byrd II. They will have six daughters and two sons.

ca. 1746
- Construction begins on the seven-bay house at Cleve, Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764)'s plantation in King George County.

1756
- Carter Burwell, Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764), Landon Carter, Peyton Randolph, and John Robinson are appointed as directors to oversee the colony's financing of troops to protect the Virginia frontier during the Seven Years' War.

1759
- Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) sponsors a bill to create a committee to encourage economic diversification in Virginia and award "bounties or premiums for the more speedy and effectual bringing to perfection any art of manufacture of service to the public."

1762
- Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) writes his will and instructs his executors to implement a full plan of agricultural reform at his plantation, Cleve.

1763
- The Royal Society of the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, in London, awards Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) a medal for his attempt to produce wine in Virginia.

June 9, 1763
- Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) marries Lucy Taliaferro. They will have one daughter.

April 26, 1764
- Charles Carter (ca. 1707–1764) dies of "a dropsey" at his home in King George County. He is buried probably on his estate at Cleve.

Categories

References

Further Reading

Evans, Emory G. A "Topping People": The Rise and Decline of
Virginia's Old Political Elite. Charlottesville: University of Virginia
Press, 2009.

Walsh, Lorena S. Motives of Honor, Pleasure, and Profit:
Plantation Management in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1607–1763. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press for the Omohundro Institute of Early American
History and Culture, 2010.